A10587 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)

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BILL NUMBER: A10587
SPONSOR: Lupardo
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TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the correction law, in relation to
authorizing the Broome correctional facility to also be used for the
detention of persons under arrest being held for arraignment in any
court located in the county of Broome
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PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To allow the Broome County Correctional Facility to hold persons who are
under arrest prior to their arraignment.
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SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends section 500-a of the correction law by adding a new
subdivision 2-s to read: The Broome County Correctional Facility may
also be used for the detention of persons under arrest being held for
arraignment in any court located in the County of Broome.
Section 2: Amends section 500-c to read: notwithstanding any other
provisions of law, in the county of Broome all the provisions of this
shall equally apply in any case where the sheriff is holding a person
under arrest for arraignment prior to commitment, as if such person had
been judicially committed to the custody of the sheriff and such person
may be held in the Broome County Correctional Facility.
Sections 3. Establishes the effective date.
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JUSTIFICATION:
The Broome County Public Defender has requested a change in State law
which would allow for pre-arraignment detention of all individuals
arrested in Broome County at the Broome County Correctional Facilities.
This legislation would allow times to be set, twice a day, for when
arraignments would be conducted, by having set times the Public
Defender's Office could cover every arraignment that occurs in the coun-
ty and provide critical legal representation and counsel to every indi-
vidual arrested in the County. Currently, the Public Defender's office
must travel to every Town, Village, City court in order to represent
individuals and sometimes arraignments must be postpone due to the
office being unable to cover every court.
This change in law would ensure that all individuals awaiting arraign-
ment are provided with legal counsel, as arraignments have been deemed
by the Court of Appeals to be an integral stage of any criminal case
requiring legal counsel to be present. If no counsel is present, the
individual cannot be arraigned and will need to be continued to be
detained. This change in law would also provide efficient use of
strained law enforcement resources.
This change in law would not only provide for the use of shared services
within the County, but also furthered the stated criminal justice
reforms initiatives of the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, Janet
DiFore.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is new legislation.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
This legislation will have no fiscal implications for the State.
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EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.